Final Exercise for Monju Fuel Removal Resumed

August 21, 2018

Tokyo- The Japan Atomic Energy Agency resumed on Monday a final exercise to prepare for the removal of nuclear fuel assemblies from its Monju prototype fast-breeder reactor, following its suspension on Sunday afternoon only hours after the start.

The exercise was restarted at 5 p.m. (8 a.m. GMT), according to the agency. Monju, located in Tsuruga, Fukui Prefecture, central Japan, is in the decommissioning process.

In the final exercise, control rods used instead of real fuel assemblies will be removed from a container filled with sodium, a coolant. They will be then packed in cans after the sodium is rinsed off, and transported to a water-filled pool.

The exercise, launched around 9 a.m. Sunday, was suspended after an alarm warning of an air leak went off around 1:35 p.m. when equipment to remove the control rods and a device to pack them in the cans were connected, according to the JAEA.

A probe by the agency found that the connected section of the packing device was not airtight due to the degradation of a rubber part, agency officials said. Jiji Press